Florida State might be ineligible for its upcoming Independence Bowl matchup against Southern Miss on Wednesday.
According to a report from Reddit, FSU's 77-6 win against FCS opponent Delaware State on Nov. 18 — which helped it achieve an otherwise-bowl eligible 6-6 record — does not count toward its bowl eligibility because Delaware State hadn't awarded 90 percent of its scholarship limit to players.
That would mean the Seminoles are technically 5-6 as far as bowl eligibility is concerned. And that would make them ineligible for postseason play, unless they received a special waiver from the NCAA.
Regardless, the Independence Bowl plans to go forward with preparations to host the Seminoles and Golden Eagles.
“This is a matter between the NCAA, Florida State and Delaware State. We’re continuing preparations for our game,” Stefan Nolet, public and media relations director for the Independence Bowl, told the Orlando Sentinel.
The report, which comes from r/CFB, bases its findings on NCAA rules 15.5.6 and 18.7.2, which cover football roster limitations and postseason bowl games, respectively.
The Reddit user who compiled the findings reportedly received validated data from Delaware State's Department of Institutional Research, Planning, and Analytics, which confirmed that the football team had only awarded 87 percent of its scholarship limit.
Florida State has since responded to the initial report, stating Delaware State has verified it provided 90 percent of its scholarship thanks to an NCAA rule interpretation that allows for non-athletic scholarships to account toward the scholarship limit.
Statement from FSU on reports concerning FSU’s bowl eligibility. pic.twitter.com/HasodSIXb8
— Noles247.com (@Noles247) December 23, 2017
FSU faced the possibility of missing its 36th consecutive bowl game this season when it finished the season 5-6. However, the team rescheduled its game against Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 2 — which was moved because of complications of Hurricane Irma. The Seminoles won 42-10, seemingly clearing them for postseason play.
With less than a week before FSU's game against Southern Miss, it will be interesting to see if any action is taken by the NCAA or Florida State to remedy the issue.
